Nigerians continued to grapple with growing energy prices caused by the challenges in the global oil and gas industry, the Russia-Ukraine war as well as local distortions in Nigeria's petroleum transportation and supply infrastructure in October, latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has shown.
According to the NBS numbers, the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel used by many Nigerian businesses to power their generating plants in the absence of reliable power supply in October 2022 was N801.09 per litre.
This represents an increase of 215.30 per cent paid by individuals and businesses, from N254.07 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year, that is 2021.
The implication is that there has been no respite for Nigerians and their businesses in the last one year, with skyrocketing energy costs, food prices as well as transportation bills, a development that has in turn led to increasing inflation.
The problem has been further exacerbated by the country's inability to refine products locally as well as the impact of a tumbling naira exchange rate to the American dollar.
While the government has retained subsidy payment on petrol, it has deregulated the prices of diesel, gas and kerosene, essentially leaving the rates to market forces.
But on a month-on-month basis, diesel increased by 1.42 per cent from N789.90 per litre reported in September 2022, the report stated.
On state profile analysis, the highest average price of the product in October 2022 was recorded in Ebonyi with N858.33, followed by Bauchi with N857.50, and Plateau with N856.25.
On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Akwa Ibom with N748.18, followed by Benue with N750.00 and Edo with N765.91. Furthermore, analysis by zone showed that the North-central had the highest price with N818.41, while the South-south recorded the lowest price with N774.96.
In the same vein, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas on a year-on-year basis, rose by 70.62 per cent from N2,627.94 in October 2021.
However, it increased by 0.21 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,474.48 recorded in September 2022 to N4,483.75 in October 2022.
On state profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas, with N4,955.00, followed by Niger with N4,950.00, and Adamawa with N4,940.29.
On the other hand, Abia recorded the lowest price with N4,045.45, followed by Kano and Delta with N4,100.00 and N4,139.29 respectively.
In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of gas with N4,726.07, followed by the North-east with N4,577.86, while the South-south recorded the lowest with N4,275.92.
According to the data, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas, increased by 1.45 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N9,906.44 in September 2022 to N10,050.53 in October 2022.
On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 51.40 per cent from N6,638.27 in October 2021. On state profile analysis, Cross River recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg Cylinder of cooking gas, with N10,986.11, followed by Oyo with N10,826.56 and Kogi with N10,783.33.
Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Yobe with N8,533.33, followed by Sokoto and Katsina with N9,100.00 and N9,202.86 respectively.
As for petrol, the average retail price paid by consumers for October 2022 was N195.29, indicating a 17.93 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in October 2021 (N165.60).
Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month, that is September 2022, the average retail price increased by 1.90 per cent from N191.65.
On a state-wide analysis, Kebbi state had the highest average retail price for petrol with N211.00, followed by Kano with N210.14 and Gombe with N210.00.
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On the other hand, Sokoto had the lowest average retail price for the product with N185.00, followed by Taraba with N185.42 and Abia with N186.56.
In addition, analysis by zone for the product showed that the North-west recorded the highest average retail price in October 2022 with N198.28, while the South-west had the lowest with N192.42.
Meanwhile, the NBS has said that Nigeria's oil sector contributed 5.66 per cent to the country's total real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q3 2022.
The 5.66 per cent recorded in Q3/2022 is down from the figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2021 and the preceding quarter, where it contributed 7.49 per cent and 6.33 per cent respectively.
For about a year, Nigeria has been unable to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) allocation as it continues to battle massive crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
